Growing up not knowing her father, and pregnant at age 17, she wanted a better life for herself.

I was always really determined, said Ms. Morales, now 26. I knew that if I wanted to get out of the situation I found myself in, I had to get an education.

In the last nine years, she started a family, got married, received her bachelor's degree, is working toward her MBA at Cleveland State University and has built a career in which she keeps rising to the top.

Her career began at Dollar Bank in 2003, where she quickly became a supervisor as head teller.

In 2004, she joined National City Bank, where she managed 60 people and three supervisors in a call center. Ms. Morales held various leadership roles at National City until last January, when she became the director of Key Career Place at Cuyahoga Community College West in Parma.

In that role, she coordinates career services for students at Tri-C West and Corporate College West and for students taking Tri-C classes in Brunswick.

Ms. Morales meets with classes of students and instructors to inform them of services her office provides, such as resume writing, interview skills and salary negotiation.

She said her office typically works with about 120 people a month, but she hopes to increase that figure significantly by creating more literature about the office and attending more community events to let people know her office is there to help.

Her former co-worker, Rockell Churby Llanos, who is an executive administrative assistant with National City, which is now a part of PNC Bank, sees Ms. Morales as someone who inspires others to reach their full potential.

Her ambition and leadership qualities are not only an asset to the female and Latino population here in Cleveland, but to our community as a whole, Ms. Churby Llanos said.

Ms. Morales' drive to help others doesn't end with the workday. She is on the board of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs Cleveland chapter, where she is vice president of education. In that role, she works with local universities to offer scholarships to students who want to get an MBA.

She also volunteers with Junior Achievement to talk to classes about business careers and works with Esperanza Inc. to talk to local Hispanic girls about teen pregnancy.

I'm using my story to help them not make the same mistakes I did, Ms. Morales said.